Gurgaon: Midway through yet another excruciating summer, residents of Gurgaon's have come together to install a variety of rainwater harvesting systems in their respective standalone homes and private townships. In this arid region, depleting groundwater and lack of government effort towards harnessing monsoon rainwater has convinced many residents, their efforts alone can stave off a looming crisis.
The symbol of the Indian corporate world's global ambition, Gurgaon, unfortunately, remains to this day a milestone in private development, despite the lion's share of taxes it contributes to the state coffers.
According to data provided by the groundwater cell, Department of Agriculture, Haryana, the city's water table has fallen from 6.64m in June 1974 to 26.18m in June 2014. "Gurgaon receives 600mm of rainfall, with sudden flooding of roads and surroundings. There is no place for the water to seep in. Most of it eventually runs off, contributing negligibly to groundwater recharge," said Vivek Kamboj, environmentalist.
Recently, Suncity started digging pits to prepare for the monsoons. "We are digging four pits, each 40ft deep, to help recharge groundwater," said VMK Singh, general secretary, Suncity RWA. "Suncity is near the Aravalis. We experience a lot of flooding during the rains. If that water could be allowed to recharge the underground aquifers, it will benefit all," he added.
Like Suncity, residents of Nirvana Country recently decided to dig and clean existing pits in the society, to facilitate groundwater recharge. "Water collected from rooftops will be channelled into these pits, which will then seep into the ground," said SanuKapila, president, Nirvana Country RWA.
Nirvana has borewells for its supply of water, so the society did not face any shortage during the recent heatwave. But, residents feel everyone should make attempts to save water.
"We didn't have trouble this year. Even then, tap pressure was very low, compared to other months. This is due to the falling water table. If we continue to pump out water, it is sure to run out soon. As residents, we must ensure we give back what we take from the ground," said Geeta Sharma, a resident.
Residents of Sector 45 faced the brunt of the recent water crisis, especially during the two days Huda cut supply to lay a pipeline. "We had to rely on tubewells, which was insufficient," said Surendra Kaushik, the Sector 45 RWA general secretary.
He added, "We've now made it mandatory for residents to have rooftop rainwater harvesting, so that we do not face any such crisis in future."
Malibu Towne, Mayfield Gardens and Vatika City, which already have rainwater harvesting systems in place, are getting them overhauled in preparation for the monsoons.
